Spring device



Aug. 21, 1951 v. F; ZAHODRAKZN SPRING DEVICE Filed. Dec.

ATTORNEY- &1'W CTOR F ZAHODIAKIN.

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Patented Aug. 21, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to a compression device of general utility and particularly to a device which incorporates spring elements which are compressible for exerting a return force on an element, such as a valve, for seating the same or for taking up shock, or, in fact, for any use where resiliency between parts is desired.

Up to the present time it has been impossible to construct a commercial coil spring so that its solid height, that is, its height when fully compressed, will be within the limits of one-thousandths of an inch. Further, the commercial coil springs now manufactured do not hold up well enough for certain uses since excessive pressures on them will cause their shape to change. As they are compressed, their outside diameters will vary and this will cause difficulty in the operation of the device in which they are incorporated, thereby destroying the efficiency of the device.

It has been an object of the present inventor to provide an inexpensive and accurate spring means which can be manufactured through simple and well-known manufacturing methods, particularly by stamping. In other words, it is the purpose of this inventor to provide a spring device of general utility in which the elements are stamped and are assembled and related in such fashion as to result in a constant solid heighth within the limits of one-thousandths of an inch and, further, a compressible device which will not become deformed under excessive pressure.

In the device of this invention, the elements. when fully pressed together, become a solid structure at a precise heighth and further deformation cannot occur within the elastic limits of the material. In other words, the accuracy of the device is only limited by the normal maxi mum stress limits of the material used in the discs or plates making up the assembly.

It has been a further object of the inventor to provide a device in which the tension and resiliencv of the spring elements may be varied by changing the angular relationship of these devices with respect to each other.

It has been a still further object of the inventor to provide a device of this character which is constituted of a plurality of plate-like members arranged in stacked relationship either held in assembly by a casing or by interlocking means, which device forms a unit readily adaptable to a multiplicity of uses.

Other objects and certain advantages of the invention will be more fully apparent from a description of the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical diametric sectional view taken through the device showing it in position ready for use.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2, Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken similar to Figure 1, but showing a modified ar rangement wherein a housing or container means is not required. I

Figure 4 is a fragmentary top plan view of Figure 3, further illustrating the inner-connecting means between the discs.

Figure 5 is a general view showing the device in position of use for operating a valve.

Referring to the drawings, the device is shown mounted on a base element ID. The device is illustrated in position of general usage, that is to say, in the main views, the parts upon which it is active are not shown other than to show the base element [0. As stated, it has a wide range of use and it is not desired to limit the scope of the invention to any particular use.

Generally speaking, the device consists of a plurality of superimposedor stacked discs. Certain of these discs indicated at I l are flat and the balance, indicated at l2, are conical. The discs are assembled in units consisting, in each case, of an intermediate fiat disc I l with oppositely related conical discs engaging the opposite faces of the flat discs. The conical discs l2 are of less diameter in relaxed position than the flat discs and their dimensions have been calculated so that their diameter will be the same or no greater when fully compressed against the fiat discs.

This assemblage of discs is contained within a housing H. The housing includes a cylindrical wall M, an annular inward flange l5 at its upper end, and an outwardly extended base flange H5 at its lower end attached to the base member I ll. The flange I5 is flared upwardly slightly as at I! to conform to the tapered upper surface of the topmost conical disc when the disc is relaxed.

The opening [8 at the upper end of the housing is large enough to permit adequate contact of the operating element with the upper disc as at IS, in cases where this is desired. Where the operating member passes through the discs, as in the case of a valve stem, adequate clearance openings 20 are provided in all the discs as well as an opening 2! in the base element Ill.

The conical discs in each case are stamped out to provide a multiplicity of extended prongs 22 (Figure 2). Thus, it will be evident that when pressure is applied to the top of the assembly as at IS, the prongs will tend to straighten out into horizontal position and the resilient force, or compression, Will be created in the device throughout the various conical discs.

The washers, or discs, in this case ar circular, but it is obvious that this should not be limiting for they can be in any form, insofar as their outline is concerned, which suits the particular utility.

In the modified form, the cylindrical housing 13 is eliminated. In lieu of this housing for holding the parts in assembly, the parts themselves are interlocked. The outer ends of the prongs are notched radially as at 23 and one of the prongs in each instance includes a lip 24 which traverses the slot of the adjacent prong and is bent down on the top of the pron for hooking the prongs together. The sub-assemblies, that is, the pairs of related conical discs are held together by means of a flange 25 formed around the inner opening of one disc, this flange being fitted within the central bore of the adjacent disc and bent outwardly for engagement about the margin of the bore of the adjacent disc. In this form of the invention, the intermediate fiat discs II are eliminated and it is evident that the device is simplified in some respects,

Figure has been included for the purpose of showing the device in use. The device is shown diagrammatically, that is to say, the details are not included such as the assembly means. This view shows th device generally at 26, a valve at 27, a rocker arm at 28, and a cam at 29. The cam is rotated on the axis of the shaft 30 and, in turn, rocks the arm 28 on the shaft 3|, the actuatin end 32 of the rocker arm engaging the top of the valve stem 33. The valve stem includes means such as a shoulder 34 which engages the uppermost disc. The assembly of discs is mounted on the block diagrammatically indicated at 35.

The discs may be held in assembly either by the preferred arrangement of Figures 1 and 2, or by the arrangement of Figures 3 and 4.

Having described my invention, I claim:

A spring device comprising stacked sets of oppositely paired substantially conical discs in which each disc includes a central opening and a plurality of prongs extending outwardly from the area surrounding the opening, means fastening together the sets including a flange formed at the margin of the central opening in one disc of each set and extending axially from said disc through the central opening of a disc of an adjacent set and embracing the marginal edge of its opening, prongs of the respective discs of each paired set engaging at their respective outer ends in pairs, one of th engaging prongs of each pair slotted at the outer end and the other having a lip thereon traversing the slotted end of the first and bent over on the first.

VICTOR F. ZAHODIAKIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 44,925 Alden Nov. 8, 1864 377,125 Trent Jan. 31, 1888 485,553 Marriott Nov. 1, 1892 1,171,722 Hough Feb. 15, 1916 1,826,597 Brecht Oct. 6, 1931 1,952,895 Ross Mar. 2'7, 1934 2,281,955 Rosenzweig May 5, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 161,910 Switzerland Aug. 16, 1933 420,943 Germany Nov. 3, 1925 

